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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24168223">Don't Be Ashamed and Let Me In</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardakuka/pseuds/gardakuka'>gardakuka</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soulstorm [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire &amp; Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Joffrey and siblings are Robert's children, Minor Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, Minor Robert Baratheon/Cersei Lannister, Minor Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark, One-sided Cersei Lannister/Jaime Lannister, POV Jaime Lannister, Soulmate's name appears on the wrist, Soulmates, because I said so</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:41:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,580</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24168223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardakuka/pseuds/gardakuka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime knew he and Cersei were destined to be together. They were twins, they had one soul, they loved each other deeply. There was no way his soulmate was someone else.<br/>When he was seven, his dreams were ruined by a wobbly handwriting on the left wrist.<br/>Luckily, he didn't mind.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soulstorm [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1625113</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><s>creeps out of the dark cave of misery and writing block</s><br/>Yay, my first braime--<br/>Soulmate AUs are love.<br/>This story takes place in the same world as my another soulmate AU, 'The Prints of Little Hands' (the title is taken from the same song which inspired me for the setting of this particular soulmate AU).<br/>Basically, people get the names of their soulmates when they are around 6-7 years old, even if their soulmate haven't been born yet.<br/>It's tagged as Underage, but don't be afraid c':</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Cersei was the one who said that they were soulmates. They’ve just turned six, and now she was patiently waiting for Jaime’s name to appear on her wrist. They were twins and it meant they’ve already had one soul, she said. Jaime squeezed her little hand and smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to see your name on my wrist,” he whispered in her ear and Cersei grinned. She was missing two front teeth, but in Jaime’s opinion, she was the most beautiful girl in the whole world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime knew his parents were soulmates. Their father was wearing a leather band on his left wrist, and their mother had a silken one. Jaime was told that sometimes people were left without a name on their wrists, or were forced to marry someone who wasn’t destined to them by the Gods, but it wasn’t his parents’ case. They loved each other deeply, and Jaime knew he loved Cersei the same way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would love his new brother or sister too, just not the same way he loved Cersei. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>special</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jaime hoped so much she was his soulmate, he even spent time before falling asleep praying to the Seven to make sure they would fulfil his wish.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>His wrist was itching. Jaime lazily opened his eyes and blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cersei was sleeping next to him. She winded herself into a ball in her sleep, her little fist latched onto his tunic. She started to sleep in his bed again, but now it wasn’t because of their affection. She was missing their mother, and sleeping next to her twin was giving her some sort of comfort. At least their father didn’t mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime yawned and stretched his hands. His wrist was itching, and Jaime screwed up his face. Probably, it was because he ate too many grapes yesterday, he was always getting rashes when grapes were involved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Strangely enough, it was just his left wrist which was affected this time. He carefully unclenched Cersei’s fingers and climbed down his huge bed. He needed to have a proper look at his wrist, so he tiptoed to the window. The curtains were closed, but the morning sun was already striking through the heavy fabric.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and held his hand up to the light.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>name </span>
  </em>
  <span>on his wrist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And it wasn’t Cersei’s name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime </span>
  <em>
    <span>squeaked</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> on Cersei’s wrist. Jaime checked it when she was still asleep, but it didn’t matter anyway. His soulmate was someone else. Not Cersei. If there was someone destined for her, it wasn’t Jaime anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t what he was looking forward all those years since he first heard the song about a lady and her knight, whose souls were connected, but strangely enough, Jaime wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>sad</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was a little bit ashamed after that strange discovery, but he simply wasn’t able to feel sad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He covered the wrist with a bandage anyway. When Cersei woke up and asked him about it, Jaime said he tripped on and fell when he went to make water at night. Cersei snorted and said that he was too clumsy for a future knight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His father didn’t pay any attention to the bandage. He wasn’t paying attention to anything lately. Jaime knew that losing your soulmate was a horrible thing, but he wasn’t ready to see it with his own eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He touched the bandage on his left wrist and hoped nothing bad would happen to his soulmate. Whoever she was.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me about Tarth!” Jaime grinned, making himself comfortable on a high chair. He had to be very careful, as Tyrion was sleeping in his arms. Jaime liked his babe brother, even if he was different. Cersei said he was a monster and his father despised him, so no one really paid attention to Tyrion, apart from his wet nurse and Jaime.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which was good. At least he could take the sleeping babe with him and nobody would make a fuss about Tyrion missing from his crib.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The maester sighed and put away his books and scrolls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should learn more about the Houses of the westerlands, my lord,” he said. Everyone at Casterly Rock was calling Jaime a </span>
  <em>
    <span>young lord</span>
  </em>
  <span> and he didn’t like it. Nobody referred to Tyrion in such way and Jaime envied his babe brother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I already know everything about them,” Jaime pouted. “Ask me anything about their sigils or words, and I’ll answer you easily! And the same goes for any other House in Westeros.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then why are you asking me about the House Tarth?” the maester cocked his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not the House,” Jaime shook his head. “I want to know about the island!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His soulmate was from Tarth, and Jaime needed to know more about that place. He knew it was located on the other side of Westeros, he saw the map. It was a tiny island, and people said it had to be full of sapphires.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime liked how sapphires looked like. His mother had a necklace with them, and Jaime was always mesmerised by the shiny blue stones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had no idea how his soulmate looked like, but he pictured her having huge blue eyes, just like the gems.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Cersei was constantly complaining that Jaime wasn’t spending his free time with her. She was jealous of his attention to Tyrion, and Jaime didn’t want to know what could happen if she learnt about his soulmate. He kept hiding the name on his wrist from his twin sister and his father, because a little voice in his head (or was it his heart?) whispered him it would be better that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt bad hiding something important from Cersei, but Jaime didn’t want to hurt her. She was his sister and he loved her. The same way he loved Tyrion or their father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime knew that a </span>
  <em>
    <span>different </span>
  </em>
  <span>sort of love had to be saved for his soulmate. Who, as he learnt, wasn’t even born yet.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaime spent hours learning things about House Tarth. He knew there was a young lord who was married but didn’t have any children. Jaime was sure that the name on his wrist belonged to lord Selwyn’s future daughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His father didn’t have any connections with Tarth, and Jaime was a little bit afraid to ask him about lord Selwyn. He didn’t want to ask the maester too, as the old man could suspect something strange and report to his lord, so Jaime decided to get a handle on the matter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew his letters, so it was easy for him to write a simple letter addressed to Selwyn Tarth. Jaime was a polite boy, so he made sure his letter was perfect and didn’t have too much information which could bother the young lord.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a tough challenge to distract the maester and get himself a spare raven, but luckily for him, Tyrion had a habit to cry very loud when he was hungry or disappointed with something. Jaime took his little brother with him to his lessons with the maester and quietly took away his toy. While the maester was busy trying to figure out what made a healthy babe to cry so loud, Jaime took a chance and sent the raven to Tarth with his </span>
  <em>
    <span>very polite</span>
  </em>
  <span> letter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hoped lord Selwyn won’t mind receiving it.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Lord Selwyn Tarth,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My name is Jaime Lannister. I am almost nine years of age. I live in Casterly Rock with my father and my two siblings. I like them very much.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Congratulations on your recent marriage. I wish your House prosperity and happiness and many strong children (and a daughter).</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My maester told me about the island of Tarth. I learnt it is very beautiful and full of sapphires. Is it very cold to live on the island? Because it sometimes gets windy and chilly here, and it isn’t even an island.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope you won’t mind receiving this letter of mine.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please take care and pass my good wishes to your Lady wife.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Jaime Lannister, the future Lord of the Casterly Rock.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you guys for reading and your support &lt;3</p>
<p>It's braime I'm writing, but Brienne won't appear for 3-4 more chapters...</p>
<p>An important note, some of the characters will become OOC for sure, as their lives would change drastically because of the whole soulmate concept :')</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was no reply from lord Selwyn, but Jaime didn’t give up. Nor he felt disappointment. The lord of Tarth had a huge island to take care of, and Jaime understood that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be very busy. Even his father wasn’t replying to all the letters Jaime and Cersei sent him to King’s Landing, so it was something normal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sometimes, the adulthood was too complicated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But it didn’t stop Jaime from sending another letter. And another one. And one more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If lord Selwyn was his future goodfather, Jaime had to leave the best possible impression on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Lord Selwyn Tarth,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I hope you are doing well.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Congratulations on the birth of your son! Please send my best wishes to your Lady wife and your heir. My brother Tyrion also sends his best wishes and wants to find out if you will have a daughter soon (he is too learn his letters, so I will pass his message to you).</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>(he is too young to talk too)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How is the weather on Tarth? It is very sunny in Casterly Rock now, but we cannot swim here. Our aunt says the water is too cold for all of us. I hope the sea at your place is wat warmer.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please take care of yourself and your family.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Best wishes,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Jaime Lannister.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cersei wasn’t talking about them being soulmates anymore. Her wrist was free of any letters and she was too old to get a name. Jaime felt sorry for her, but said nothing. He knew that talking to Cersei about soulmates would eventually lead to the mark on his wrist, and Jaime wanted to keep his secret as long as possible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a strange decision, Cersei was his sister, his twin, but something inside his head had whispered on his ear that it would be better to hide the name from her. As well as from their father. Even his beloved aunt Genna didn’t know about the name on his left wrist.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The only one who saw the wobbly letters was Tyrion, but he was too young to understand the whole thing about soulmates anyway. He simply thought that the writing on Jaime’s wrist was something like a birthmark. He was babbling something about Jaime’s left hand all the evening after he saw the name, but no one paid any attention to his words, especially Cersei.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cersei wasn’t paying attention to Jaime lately at all. She was busy with her friends and her drawings. At first, Jaime thought it was something boring, but then he thought about his soulmate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>About </span>
  <em>
    <span>Brienne</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Would she like spending time with the other girls too? Would she wear her cute little dresses and pretend she is a lady of the castle, like Cersei sometimes did. Would she sit down in her room and draw something on a piece of parchment? Cersei had drawn herself and prince Rhaegar (even though she was claiming the image had nothing to do with her), and Jaime wondered if Brienne would do something similar. Just with her and Jaime.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Brienne wasn’t even born yet, so Jaime waited.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was a patient boy, after all. He would wait as long as it was needed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Lord Selwyn Tarth,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hope you and your family are well.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Our father (Lord Hand) sent us the raven some days ago. He said there will be a huge tournament held in Lannisport, and we cannot wait to be there!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The whole court from King’s Landing will come, and people say that Prince Rhaegar will be fighting to honour the birth of his brother.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Did my father send you an invitation for this tourney? If yes, me and my brother would like to let you know that we will be waiting for your arrival. Of course, if you and your Lady wife will be able to travel to Lannisport. I hope she is doing well and will give birth to your (daughter) second child soon.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Best wishes,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span><strike>Ser</strike> Jaime Lannister.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were some promises even his father wasn’t able to keep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He promised that Cersei will be betrothed to prince Rhaegar, but the King was strictly against the whole idea of joining their Houses.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He promised that Jaime will become a squire of prince Rhaegar, but it was the King again who brought his Hand down, drawing a border between the heir of the Iron Throne as some young lordling from the westerlands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime was sad for Cersei. She didn’t have a soulmate, which meant she could marry anyone who lacked a name on their wrist. Prince Rhaegar was one of those people too, so Jaime wanted to believe there was hope for his sister to find her happiness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Strangely enough, the news about his luckless future as a squire of Rhaegar Targaryen didn’t drag him down. His father brought him to his solar and said he was sorry. It was so strange to hear that the mighty Tywin Lannister was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span> for something.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought of sending you to one of the westerland's Houses before the whole idea of making you Rhaegar's squire,” his father said with a deep frown.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime was sitting on a too tall chair for someone who was just ten years of age. He wanted so much to swing his legs, but Jaime knew his father won’t approve such a behaviour from his heir, so he tried to stay calm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was still early for him to leave Casterly Rock and become someone’s squire anyway, so Jaime didn’t see a point of worrying too much about the issue. His father had a different opinion, though.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime sighed. If he had to stay in westerlands, he would like to be somewhere close to Casterly Rock. Tyrion and Cersei were here and Jaime hoped to stay in touch with them. Maybe he would even get a chance to come and visit them from time to time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I will send you quite far from our place,” his father said and Jaime lowered his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, at least, there always were ravens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where will I go?” he asked his father with a frown. Cersei always said his frown looked quite, but Jaime hoped it made him look like an adult.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His father sighed and drummed on the table with fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To Tarth,” he said and Jaime’s eyes widened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>His left wrist was itching again, but he didn’t care.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p><span></span><br/><br/><em>To Brienne</em>.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Jaime's at Evenfall Hall, finally!<br/>Next time, meeting the family and a daily routine of the mere squire...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It took almost a year before Jaime was told to get ready for a long journey. His father insisted on him travelling through King’s Landing, so Jaime could spend a couple of days with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cersei wasn’t happy he was going so far, nor was Tyrion. His younger brother clung to him at every possible occasion and mumbled if Jaime was allowed to stay in Casterly Rock. He wasn’t crying like any other child would on his place. Jaime assured Tyrion he would visit their home at every possible occasion. Tyrion wasn’t happy about it, but then Jaime promised to bring him different presents from Tarth and his brother had finally accepted the fact Jaime had to go away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Tyrion learnt, that becoming a squire was an important step to become a knight, he started to push Jaime to leave Casterly Rock as soon as possible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cersei wasn’t happy because of the whole different reason. As soon as she learnt that there was no chance for a betrothal between her and prince Rhaegar, she decided it was a sign. A sign that she and Jaime were destined to be together. Jaime knew she was wrong, he was destined to become Brienne’s soulmate and, hopefully, husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Never in his life, Jaime spent his time daydreaming about his future wedding. He wasn’t a little girl, he was a squire to be, but still. He even asked his aunt Genna about her wedding, as well as about the wedding of his parents. He made sure he had memorised every important step of the wedding ceremony. It didn’t matter that he still had </span>
  <em>
    <span>years </span>
  </em>
  <span>before he could marry Brienne, he had to make sure he would be the perfect groom in the whole Westeros.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because his Brienne deserved the </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect </span>
  </em>
  <span>groom and husband. That Jaime knew for sure.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>King’s Landing was a huge and busy city. Jaime knew Cersei would adore it from the first sight, but he couldn’t say he would share her opinion. The Red Keep was a marvellous place, some of the streets were huge and lively. Jaime enjoyed his time at the Blackwater bay too, but altogether…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Altogether, King’s Landing wasn’t a place where Jaime would like to spend his life. Or at least the most important years of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hoped he would get a chance to spend time with his father, but Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King, was too busy even after asking his son to come to the capital. It was a miracle if he was able to join his son for dinner, but Jaime didn’t mind. His father was a busy man, and helping the King to rule over the whole Westeros was way more difficult than running a single keep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least they had those dinners. Jaime learnt that his father was looking forward to taking Cersei to King’s Landing sooner or later. It was a perfect place for her to grow into a fine young woman, he said. Jaime agreed with him. Cersei would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>a life at the royal court. He also wished that Tyrion could join her as well, but his father didn’t mention his youngest son at all. As if he didn’t exist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime learnt he would leave the capital by the end of the week to resume his journey to Tarth. He also learnt that it was lord Selwyn’s idea to take him as a squire. He approached the Hand while visiting the royal court and made an offer. His father said he wasn’t happy about the whole idea initially, but the chance to send his son to Tarth could make some sort of a connection between Selwyn’s family and the Lannisters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Any connection could benefit us later on,” his father said and Jaime nodded. He knew it was better to agree with everything his father said about the politics.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime was sure that the main benefit of his time on Tarth would be his future marriage to Brienne. He decided not to mention it to his father, though.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaime found out he didn’t like to travel by boat. But there was no other way to get to his final destination, so he had to accept his fate. At least he wasn’t seasick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was welcomed by the steward of Evenfall Hall. The man explained that lord Selwyn had to spend some time with his wife and wasn’t able to greet his future squire properly. Jaime had no idea what had happened to lord Selwyn’s wife, but he hoped it wasn’t anything too bad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Evenfall Hall wasn’t as big as Casterly Rock, but Jaime decided he liked it. It was quiet here, but still lively. Jaime was introduced to the master-at-arms and the maester, who told him that lord Selwyn decided it was important for his squire to continue his regular lessons, apart from the usual training and duties. Jaime was also shown a huge library, which literally took his breath away. He wasn’t spending too much time on reading, but now Jaime decided he could change his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His room was simple but spacious. Jaime had heard that sometimes squires had to spend their nights in the barracks, so it was a pleasant surprise. There weren’t many things inside, just a bed, a table, a wardrobe, and a shelf with some books and maps. It was nothing compared to his bedroom in Casterly Rock, but Jaime decided it was way more he could ask.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And there was the most astonishing view from the window in his room. Evenfall Hall was located on the western coast of the island, and the sea here was the bluest one Jaime ever saw in his life. Almost like a sapphire he used to dream about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime decided he liked this place already.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He was told that lord Selwyn’s daughter had died in her sleep. Jaime hadn’t met a man yet, but he felt so sorry for him. And for his wife. He had no idea what they could feel, he had only lost his mother, but it was the most devastating feeling in the whole world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime ate his dinner in the company of steward, who spent their time talking about Jaime’s future duties and lessons. Lord Selwyn wasn’t a man who enjoyed tourneys, nor he was a hunting type. Still, there were many activities he would need his squire’s help, and Jaime was already eager to start with his duties.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew it was the beginning of the most important time of his life. After all, he dreamt to become a knight one day. A knight who would have a love of the commoners, whose name would be said with a sheer delight, and who would have a beautiful lady wife by his side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A beautiful lady wife called Brienne.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaime giggled at the thought and decided it was his final decision regarding his future. And he would do anything to make his dream to come true.</span>
</p>
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